Freelance Pastoral Staff Member (London Youth Folk Ensemble)

Job Summary

The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) is looking to appoint an experienced pastoral staff member to join the London Youth Folk Ensemble (LYFE) team. This is a freelance role to provide pastoral care for the LYFE members while they are taking part in Sunday workshops and performances.

Job Description

The pastoral member of staff will work with the Education Manager and the rest of the LYFE team to maintain a safe and secure environment and look after the health, safety and welfare of the young musicians. In particular, they will support young musicians who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEN/D). This includes autism, learning difficulties and sensory impairments.

They will support the smooth running of activities, striving to create a supportive atmosphere where young people can be themselves and fulfill their potential. They will get to know the young musicians as individuals, in order to understand how best to support them.

The candidate should have experience playing and performing music, as they will be supporting the young people in rehearsals and performances. They will need to be prepared to play their instrument in rehearsals, as part of the role is to understand the requirements and challenges of playing and performing music.

Please note: due to the responsibilities of this role, we are looking for candidates who are over 21 years of age and not related to a current member of the Ensemble.

Candidates who are former members of the London Youth Folk Ensemble should have left over 3 years ago.

6 fortnightly rehearsals per term (18 per year), including informal end-of-term sharing performances for parents and friends. Rehearsals take place on Sundays from 2 - 5pm. Whole team, including pastoral staff member, to arrive for all rehearsals at 1.30 pm for a briefing and leave at 5.30pm after a debrief.

Job Requirements

Person Specification

• Experience of working with young people in a supervisory or pastoral role
• Experience of working with young people with SEN/D
• Be a practising musician
• Interest or experience of folk music (from any tradition)
• Good communication skills
• Caring, approachable and calm demeanour
• Good at engaging and having rapport with young people
• Able to maintain discipline in a fair, firm and friendly manner
• Good awareness of young people's issues
• Genuine interest in working with young people
• Well-organised
• Interest in youth music and arts
• Maturity and ability to take initiative and make decisions
• Works well under pressure
• Open and non-judgemental
• Experience of working in a team
• Flexibility and a positive attitude
• Strongly committed to safeguarding, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, health and safety and safe arts practice
• Licensed child chaperone (or willing to become one)
• Experience playing and performing a musical instrument

Job Responsibilities

• Be aware of and look after the health, safety and wellbeing of the young people throughout the Sunday workshops and performances
• Be aware of medical and access needs of the young people and provide appropriate support, particularly for young people with SEN/D
• Maintain a supportive, safe and secure working environment for the young people
• Be a positive role model for young people in and out of the Ensemble
• Prioritise and champion the voice of the young person
• Deal positively and effectively with queries, accidents, incidents, and pastoral issues as they arise
• Contribute to end of workshop debriefs and share any issues or concerns with the Education Manager
• Record and report any disclosures or concerns as necessary
• Provide first aid assistance as appropriate
• Ensure the participants adhere to the Code of Conduct and any other rules set by the staff and music leaders
• Support the Education Manager with logistical and organisational aspects as necessary

• Job Title: Freelance Pastoral Staff Member (London Youth Folk Ensemble)

We deliver programmes of learning and participation, artist development and networking for educators online and at a range of venues across England including our arts venue, Cecil Sharp House through our library, the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library

We frequently work in partnership with arts, education and heritage organisations.